Urban gardens and new ways of growing: The community-centre future of food

How cities from Cork to Belo Horizonte are leading the pack in terms of sustainability
Urban gardens and new ways of growing: The community-centre future of food

 Cork Rooftop Farm

Food growing is usually associated with rural environments, but cities can also play their part in providing a portion of our food supply. As food insecurity becomes increasingly worrisome, it is worth exploring ways in which our towns and cities can generate food, or even provide enough so that we have a buffer in times of scarcity.

Around the world, there are many innovative examples of how this can be done. Cuba was forced to rethink its food production after the Cold War. The Soviet Union collapsed, and Cuba suddenly lost access to its oil supply. The dramatic stoppage forced a rapid adaptation to non-oil-dependent agriculture. People in Havana got creative and started to adapt every bit of spare land in the city for food production, keeping animals on small city blocks, using rooftops and alleyways to grow crops. 

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